This one is a bit different…I had fun with it, either way.

EDITED MAY 16, 2008

EDIT NOTE: How incredibly, incredibly hard this chapter was. I hope it's alright. I might have missed a divider or two...

Yu-Gi-Oh
The Shadow Games

Game Four
Clockwork Theft

Shoutarou gazed at the wall with a large grin on his face. Countless wristwatches lined his wall on every single shelf. His smirk grew as he looked over them. Behind him, his mother shouted from beyond his locked door. She seemed worried about him, but the young man paid no heed to her voice. He lifted a watch to his eyes. Across the top of the face, the words "D-SHOCK" were engraved in the plastic. The watch he held, in his opinion, was the best one of them all.

He then glanced at the paper next to him. A sale on limited edition D-SHOCK watches was happening on Monday in the accessory store on Senet Street(1). He had just enough money to buy one…

The next morning was a strange one for the Mutous. It might have been Sunday, but Yuugi seemed busier than he would on a typical school day. "I have to go now, Grandpa!" He shouted as he raced for the door.

"Yuugi, wait!" Sugoroku cried in desperate attempt to catch his grandson's attention.

Yuugi turned back to face his grandfather. A large slice of bread protruded from his mouth, as he had not finished breakfast yet. "What, Grandpa?" he said with his mouth full.

Sugoroku threw his hands in the air incredulously. "Don't 'what, Grandpa' me! It's not good for you to run off into town before eating properly!"

"But if I'm late, everyone will be upset!" Yuugi protested. "I'll be back later! See you soon!"

Sugoroku again attempted to stop his grandson, but Yuugi was already out the door and charging down the street like a stampeding bull. He cocked his head to one side and grinned. "Everyone…" he repeated. He could hardly believe what he had heard. Yuugi used to spend his days alone at home most of the time, but now he was always so excited to come home and tell his grandfather what he had done with his friends every day. It was great that he had friends now, but for some reason he felt worried.

Honda felt his eye twitching. Being in line on time for this sale was a pain, but there were only a limited number of those watches on sale…it was a perfect gift for his cousin. He was almost to the door, anyway…how could he give up now? Even so, he really needed to…if he didn't…he'd…

"Hi, Honda!" Yuugi said suddenly, catching his friend's attention. "What're you up to?"

Honda's eyes widened. "Ah, Yuugi! Perfect timing. Could you do me a favor?"

Yuugi, whom was always too kind to turn down a friend in need, ended up saving Honda's place in line while his friend scurried off to a nearby convenience store. A few bills in hand, the boy patiently moved forward in the line as it advanced. It didn't take long before he was standing in front of the counter. It turned out that it was lucky for Yuugi to come along when he did, as the last specialty item was sold to him. As Yuugi handed over the money to the clerk, the clerk called out to the rest of the people in line, "To everyone else, we're very sorry! The last D-SHOCK watch was just sold! We're all out!"

Many people cried out in surprise…but one young man scowled in anger. How could they all be sold out?! He had waited ages to get one…

As the man quickly accepted Yuugi's payment handed him the watch, which was carefully packed into a small box. "Thank you very much, young man. Please come again!"

As Yuugi began to reach for the box, however, someone else put their hand on it, stopping him. "I'll be taking this one," The stranger said, scowling.

Yuugi stared at the man incredulously. "What are you talking about? I just paid for this…"

"Take a look, kid," the man replied coolly, pulling up his sleeve, revealing a large number of watches all the way up his arm.

The clerk's eyes widened, almost in absolute horror. "Those are…"

The man smirked in confirmation, eager for a chance to brag. "That's right. These are the Swiss Maincha Special Edition wrist watches. My private collection holds every wristwatch ever made, and these are only a few." His gaze turned directly to Yuugi, who stared at him wide-eyed. "I am the best wristwatch collector in not only Japan, but the whole world, so I deserve this watch you are holding. Someone like you can't really understand what it means to have something like this…this is something you wouldn't even wear."

Yuugi began to protest, but the man grabbed him by the collar and dragged him up close to his face. His scowl grew incredibly intimidating, and Yuugi became so scared he couldn't breathe. "Give it up already! The watch belongs to me!"

"Enough." Someone put their hand on the stranger's shoulder, grabbing his attention.

"Can't you see I'm busy here?" the man said, scowling. Yuugi quickly caught sight of the hand's owner; it was Honda.

Honda didn't move his hand. "I don't know anything about limited edition stuff or collectors, but you don't have any right to rob others."

The man let go of Yuugi to face Honda, and a short silence ensued. It was just enough time for the man behind the counter to begin phoning the police. Upon hearing him, however, the stranger took off in a mad dash to escape.

Honda sighed, his angered expression quickly becoming kind again. "Sorry I took so long. You okay, Yuugi?"

Yuugi nodded, holding up the box to his friend. "Yeah. I got the watch for you."

Honda smiled, accepting the box from his friend. "Thanks, Yuugi. Now come on, let's head to the arcade. Anzu and Jounouchi are waiting for us there."

Shoutarou scowled. A boy got the watch he'd been after for months…no, he wouldn't have that…he wouldn't allow it! As he stared blankly at the toy machine in front of him, however, he began to pride his decision to follow that boy and his friend to the arcade. Now he'd get what he wanted. All he had to do was make the slip and take it…

As he began to walk away, someone passed him and thumped his arm with a briefcase. Shoutarou's eyes widened, and he angrily called out to the man that nearly damaged one of his precious watches… The man turned to him to see an angry scowl on Shoutarou's face. "Ah, my apologies, sir…" the man said kindly.

But Shoutarou advanced on him. "Sorry isn't going to cut it, pal!" He said angrily, dragging the man to the bathroom and beating him down. "Just be glad you didn't scratch it…otherwise I'd have to kill you!"

The sound of the door opening caught Shoutarou's attention. The brunette boy from the watch shop entered, stretching. "Time for a break I guess," he said aloud to himself. "I don't think I can beat Yuugi in that game anyway…" He slipped off his watch and set it in his back pocket to keep it from getting wet.

Shoutarou grinned, and passed swiftly by the boy, swiping the watch from his back pocket. For someone so worried about his possessions, Honda certainly made them easy to steal.

When Honda returned from the bathroom, Anzu noticed a change in Honda's attire. "Hey, Honda…why aren't you wearing your watch?"

Honda nodded. "Thanks for reminding me." He reached for his pocket. "I took it off when I washed my hands so it wouldn't get wet…eh?" He began fumbling desperately in his pockets. "No way… It's gone!"

Yuugi looked up immediately from the game he was playing. "Honda…?" He began, but he found himself unable to finish his sentence when a wave of suspicion suddenly passed through his mind.

"I swear I had put it in my back pocket," Honda said, baffled. "I couldn't have left it in the bathroom!"

Shoutarou peered from behind a game machine, smirking. He had pulled it off. It was so much fun seeing the boy act so confused like that. Yuugi, however, quickly noticed the man's face from behind the toy machine. He was easy to recognize, especially after being dragged so close to his face and nearly getting a beating. He had almost stolen the watch when he was in the store…was he back to finish the job?

It wasn't long before everyone had begun searching fervently all over the arcade for the missing item. Honda took to searching the floor and Anzu checked behind the machines. Jounouchi pitched in as well, and Yuugi was able to check some hard-to-reach areas himself. After a good amount of time, however, no progress was made.

"Honda, you should probably just forget about it…" Jounouchi finally said, sighing. "It's probably long gone by now."

"No way!" Honda replied heatedly, as though his life depended on finding the watch. "I bought this as a gift for my cousin! I'm not giving up until I find it!"

Someone stepped on his hand.

"OOOWWWW!"

The man that Yuugi had earlier recognized glanced down at Honda through his glasses. "Whoops!" He said mockingly, "I'm sorry; I thought that was a washcloth."

Honda also recognized him…he was the man that had bullied Yuugi at the store. Before he could speak, Jounouchi grabbed the man's shirt collar. "The hell do you think you're doing, you idiot!?"

"Leave him alone, Jounouchi," Honda said quietly, standing. "If you have enough time to waste with this guy, you should be helping me find that watch." With that, he walked off. The man, eager for a chance to brush off the blonde, grinned and brushed Jounouchi aside. Yuugi kept his eyes on the man; he was heading for a stairwell. Something strongly suggested to him that this man was behind the missing watch. The only problem was that Yuugi had no proof.

A bell promptly began going off. Everyone spun to see Honda lifting up one side of a game machine. While Jounouchi and Anzu ran to confront Honda for upsetting the security guards, Yuugi took advantage of the commotion to get away from everyone and follow the man downstairs.

"Hey! Let go of that!" A security officer yelled, grabbing Honda by the arm.

"Please, let me go!" Honda shouted in protest. "I'm just looking for something I lost!"

"Honda, you moron!" Anzu cried.

Jounouchi winced. "Sir, please let him go…he's looking for a lost wristwatch."

The security guard glanced at Jounouchi. "Is that so?" He asked, a bit more quietly than before. His gaze turned back to Honda. "We'll let you know if we see anything, young man. In the meantime, please don't try to lift up any of the game machines. You may damage them."

Honda hung his head. "Right…sorry, sir." When they released him, he strode just past his friends and paused. "I'm going to check the bathroom again, guys…maybe I left it in there somewhere…"

Anzu and Jounouchi sighed. Poor Honda…he had gone through so much trouble to get a rare gift for his cousin, and now it was gone.

"Hey," Anzu said suddenly, "Has anyone seen Yuugi?"

Jounouchi and Honda exchanged glances.

Yuugi skidded into the back wall of the supply room. His body ached all over, but he wasn't giving up any time soon. "Please," he pleaded Shoutarou, "Just give it back!"

"It's mine!" The man argued. Before he could protest, Yuugi received another punch to the face. He fell to the ground, unable to move from the pain wracking his body. Shoutarou laughed. "I told you before, kid…this isn't the sort of thing you would wear…but I'm different! Just getting my hands on this thing is a victory a punk like you would never understand!" He kicked the kneeling Yuugi in the side, causing him to roll to the side. Yuugi clutched his ribs, groaning in agony. Shoutarou turned away, grinning maliciously.

Yuugi couldn't even open his eyes. He heard Shoutarou walking away step by step. Whether it was from the pain or the thoughts swarming in his mind, that was the last thing Yuugi remembered that night.

Shoutarou walked away triumphantly, the watch in his hand. He didn't even have to break a sweat. That kid was such a joke. He had a hard time believing that the kid was even in high school. He grabbed the doorknobs, grinning….until he found that the doorknobs were stuck. Incredulous, he attempted again and again to open the door, but to no avail. They weren't moving any time soon.

It's time for a game.

Shoutarou spun around. The boy he had just beat to a pulp was standing in front of him, smirking. Something had changed indefinitely…he was more confident, more daring…and the aura around him seemed darker than before…sinister, even Shoutarou ran forward, but was stopped with what the boy said next.

"Be careful," The boy said. "It's dangerous in here."

As though on cue, an enormous pendulum swung between them both, just inches from Shoutarou's nose. It was then that he noticed that the whole room had somehow changed into what strongly reminded him of the inside of a clock tower. "What the hell is this?!"

"You're going to play a game with me," the boy demanded, smirking dangerously.

"What?!" Shoutarou cried in response. Was this kid seriously the one he had just beaten up? What gave him the right to be making demands?!

"However," Yuugi continued, interrupting the collector's thoughts, "It will be a Shadow Game. We will be wagering the watch you stole from Honda."

Right on cue, a window opened from the ground and a bird, similar to one of a Kuku clock, shot up from the ground, snatched the watch from Shoutarou's hand, and retreated back into the floor. The collector fell to his knees in disbelief. "No! My D-SHOCK!"

"Is it really yours?" Yuugi asked, causing Shoutarou to look at him angrily. How dare this boy doubt him… "If you win this game, however, I will acknowledge that it belongs to you."

Shoutarou scowled. This kid had the nerve to challenge him to a game to get the watch. It didn't matter, though; whether he won or not he could still take the watch himself. What caught his attention, however, was the fact that this kid was confronting him directly about the theft instead of begging for the watch to be returned like before.

Yuugi just smirked. "Well? Do you accept?"

"Don't screw with me, kid!" Shoutarou shouted angrily, "I'll play any game you can dish out!"

"No need to be so upset," Yuugi replied calmly, his smirk not fading in the least. "It's not very difficult. When the game starts, the bird from before will come out of the compartment and the watch will be set to stopwatch mode. Whoever can stop it closest to ten seconds wins."

Shoutarou narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "That's it? It seems too easy."

"However," Yuugi continued, ignoring the man's comment, "If you exceed ten seconds, that pendulum will pass right by the D-SHOCK. You know what will happen if you're too slow…don't you?"

Shoutarou hesitated, swallowing nervously. If he wasn't fast enough to hit the switch, he'd injure his hand in a rather unsightly way. There was also the possibility of being too hasty…

"Whether you do this or not is up to you," Yuugi said, "But if you refuse then you forfeit."

"Don't mock me!" Shoutarou shot back, doing his best to mask his anxiety. "Of course I'll do it!"

"Good choice," Yuugi replied, nodding. "Who goes first?"

"I do!" The collector demanded.

"Understood." Yuugi said, keeping his stern gaze. "Then let's begin. Game, start."

The little bird popped out of the compartment. The watch was set in stopwatch mode, just as the boy had said. Shoutarou watched closely. Mere seconds felt as though hours were passing, and the ticking of the stopwatch echoed around the room loudly than it actually would have. As soon as he felt nine seconds come upon him, he lunged forward and snapped the watch to a stop. Just as he pulled his hand away, the pendulum swung past. The time on the watch read 9.34 seconds.

"HAH!" Shoutarou cried pridefully. "How's that?"

Yuugi grinned. "You're good. Now, it's my turn. Start."

Just like before, the bird popped out of the ground. Shoutarou grinned. There was no way that boy would be able to beat his time. There was no way this kid could show off the guts he had earlier. He was already grinning in smug victory. However, Yuugi had his eyes closed. What was he doing? Wasn't he even watching the time?

The pendulum began to swing. Yuugi's eyes snapped open, and he reached for the watch, flipping it off and pulling away just before his hand would have been injured. A wind blew as the pendulum passed, causing Yuugi's school jacket to flutter briefly. Even through this, he remained completely calm. The time on the watch astounded Shoutarou. "9.95?!"

"Looks like I win," Yuugi said with a smirk.

But Shoutarou wouldn't have it. "NO!" He protested. "This was just a test. The next one will be the real thing!"

"A test?" Yuugi echoed.

"And this time, we switch sides!"

Yuugi nodded. "Okay." Yuugi strode to the other side. As soon as they were ready, Yuugi muttered, "Start."

The bird appeared with the watch just like before. Shoutarou felt smug…he had found Yuugi's strategy. This time, the watch's stop button was on his side. He thought he had to pay attention to the time, but the important thing was the switch. With this advantage, his hand could escape at the last minute. It might be harder with upside-down numbers, but the switch was the important part.

The timer approached nine seconds. Shoutarou reached out to grab it, but paused. A creaking sound reached his ears. The pendulum was coming from the other side this time! He had to move quickly! He jerked his hand, hopefully he'd move fast enough…

A sickening smack resounded around the twisted room. Shoutarou screamed in pain as the pendulum struck the back of his hand and swung back to the other side of the chamber.

"Too bad," Yuugi said quietly. "Looks like I'll be taking this back after all." He reached for the watch, but Shoutarou grabbed his arm him.

"No!" the collector cried desperately. "There's no way I'm giving this up! Forget this stupid game; the D-SHOCK is mine!"

Upon looking at Yuugi, however, he was quickly silenced. An ominous, glowing eye lit up the boy's forehead. "How pathetic," he said quietly and calmly, though a sinister tone filled his voice to the brim. Shoutarou was frozen on the spot, too terrified to even move.

The Door of Darkness has been opened.

Before Shoutarou could get his answer as to what Yuugi meant, his arm was forced upward. Something didn't feel right. The skin on his hand where the pendulum struck him was torn like paper, and underneath it wasn't flesh or blood…it was a set of clockwork gears! He pulled away his sleeve, and watched in horror as his watches started sinking into his skin. He cried out in agony as the sound of ticking clocks filled his mind. Meanwhile, Yuugi calmly walked off with the G-SHOCK.

Honda was ecstatic to have the watch back again. "EH?! You found it?!"

Yuugi nodded. "Yeah. It was under the stairs for some reason…"

"Why would it be there?" Honda wondered silently. "I never went near the stairs."

Anzu noticed some scratches on Yuugi's face. "What happened to you, Yuugi?" She asked. "Your face is in terrible shape. You fall down the stairs or something?"

Yuugi laughed sheepishly. "I'd like to joke about it, but I don't remember what happened."

Anzu and Jounouchi seemed very concerned, but Honda didn't seem to be paying one bit of attention. "Thank goodness I have it! I haven't let down my cousin after all! Thank you so much, Yuugi!"

Yuugi scratched his head. He might not have remembered what happened down there, but as long as he had helped his friends, he was alright with that. As they walked out of the arcade that night, he felt something prod at his mind passively as he tried to remember how he found the watch. Shrugging it off, he headed home.

Another fun chapter! YAY! Whacha guys think? The stakes will only get higher from here on out!

(1) Since there's a few references to games in the series, like "Yugi" meaning "Game" in Japanese and his hometown being called Domino City, I named the street after the oldest known board game in the world, called "Senet."